Stepping up

Theresa was one of 11 students in Illustration Chair Rich Kryczka’s art direction class to submitted designs for the Swordfish Edwardian contest. There were 56 submissions from around the world, according to the company.

“Our students’ submissions were among the best I’ve seen,” Kryczka commented. “This is an international competition and not just for students. It’s great to see one of our students win. Theresa is an emerging talent.”

Theresa graduates from the Academy in the spring of 2013 with her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree.

Prize money and major exposureIn addition to winning a $1,000 credit to spend on Fluevog’s products, Theresa will have her winning artwork printed in the following magazines as part of Fluevog’s ad campaign: Juxtapose, Applied Arts, CMYK, Fader, Vice, Wax Poetics and Good Magazine. Theresa also has a permanent bio page on the Fluevog website: http://www.fluevog.com/FluevogCreative/bio-theresa.html, and her work will be part of an art exhibition that travels between several of the 16 Fluevog stores in major cities throughout Canada and the U.S. Theresa’s work will first be exhibited at the Chicago store in Wicker Park.

Fluevog fans vote on, select ad campaign

“The beauty of the Open Source FluevogCreative Ad contests is that our customers and fans choose which artwork wins,” commented the company’s Marketing & Communications Coordinator Greg Fluevog. “That process decides which ad gets printed in many magazines, and essentially the direction of our advertising campaigns.

“A few smart professors in art schools across the world have realized that our contests make for really good assignments for their students,” Fluevog added. “The contests are open to a variety of artistic mediums, including photography, digital illustration and painting.”

Academy’s history with Fluevog contests

During the last several years, several dozen students of Kryczka’s classes have submitted ad designs to the John Fluevog Shoes Open Source FluevogCreative Ad design contests. Several have been selected as finalists and a few as winners.

Praise for Theresa’s work

“Theresa is a very talented illustrator and watercolorist, with a fluid and painterly approach that really intrigues the viewer,” Fluevog shared. “Her unique approach reinvents everyday objects into characters and storylines. We also loved her yarn-bombing performance artwork, where she knits additions to existing public statues or street signs – again reinventing ordinary objects into art pieces. Brilliant!”

Vision and inspiration for the winning design

“When my instructor announced we would be doing this project and that the name of the shoe was Swordfish Edwardian, I knew instantly what I wanted to do,” Theresa explained. “Influenced by an artist named Alphonse Mucha, I took the idea of creating a circular design in the background to center the viewer's focus on the shoe – which was very lovely and a huge joy to paint. I kept the composition round to draw the eye in, like the bulls-eye on a target.”

Contests offer valuable experience

“I’m a huge advocate for competitions,” Kryczka’s explained. “Students need to get thicker skin. They’re going to submit, likely not win and learn how to be rejected. This process is a very helpful way to get ready for the real and competitive world.”

Theresa’s future and appreciation

Theresa is currently looking for freelance opportunities and hopes to land a full-time job with an ad agency. She would eventually like to write a children’s book and do editorial cartoons.

“I want to thank all of my friends and family who supported me and rallied to help me win this contest,” Theresa concluded. “Without their encouragement, I wouldn't have gotten anywhere and I likely wouldn't have tried to pursue a career in the arts.”